Finding Security

Chapter 11

    The first time I was well enough to venture downstairs and eat dinner with their… family, I suppose you could call it, although that was hardly the word to describe them, I was astonished at the chaos that ensued down there on what seemed to be a fairly regular basis. Aly lead me down the stairs, helping to support my still unstable figure as we descended to the dining room. When we entered the dining room, I gasped in astonishment at the décor. The carpet was a deep, velvety red and the walls were brownish ebony. The table had an elaborate bronze structure, and the top was not metal but a thick layer of glass, only rimmed with the intricate metal of the rest of the table. In the center of the glass table sat a delicate silver tea set, which I had seen on a number of occasions beforehand when Kauv had come to visit me up in my room. Most incredible of all, though, was the brilliant crystalline chandelier hanging above the table. It seemed to not only illuminate the room but to actually reflect little sparkles of shimmering light onto the walls and speckle them with a radiant pattern that beautifully contradicted the initially dark atmosphere of the room.
    We were the first ones to arrive in the extravagant room, and Aly helped me into one of the comfortable, velvet-lined, antique chairs before climbing her way into one herself, dangling her tail over the side and swishing it subtly from side to side in eager anticipation of dinner.
    Before long, though, the rest of the house’s inhabitants began to pile in, ready to eat. Kauv carried in a precarious armful of different platters containing food, which he placed with surprising grace on the table around the tea set centerpiece. Before he had even had time to finish setting the table, a little blue and grey gryphon who couldn’t have been more than a foot and a half tall clambered up onto the table, reached out his claws, and snatched a chunk of ham from the plate, which he promptly took a bite out of with the slice still dangling from his small hands.
    “Mmm, good ham! Nice job not burning it this time, Kauv!” squawked the gryphon, still standing atop the table.
    Kauv hurriedly set down the rest of the food and then, with one swift movement, shoved a booster seat onto the chair behind the food-snatcher and picked him up by the scruff of his neck, plopping him down in the seat, “Yer gonna get footprints on my table again, Eirio. Quit doing that.” With that, the cloaked drakwal went back to his project of setting the table, now beginning to set out teacups in front of each seat and fill them all with tea.
    Finally, after everyone was present and accounted for, Kauv walked up behind me and placed his hands ceremoniously on the back of my chair, clearing his throat for effect, “Good evening everyone!”
    “We live in your house, dude, you don’t need to greet us like that,” grumbled the gryphon, Eirio, between mouthfuls of ham.
    Kauv was clearly ignoring his insufferable housemate, and continued heedlessly on with his speech, “Everyone, I know all of you know about our current guest, some of us more than others, but as she’s been up in her room most of the time she’s been here, most of us haven’t really gotten to know her much yet. Now that she’s feeling well enough to join us for dinner, don’t you all think it would be nice to make her feel a bit more at home and help her get to know our little clan a bit better?” A murmur of agreement sounded across the table, and I bowed my head in embarrassment, gathering my hands in my lap sheepishly, fiddling with the folds in my skirt.
    Petri peeped up from the other side of the table, “We should introduce ourselfs!”
    “That sounds like a very good idea,” Kauv agreed, which I suppose I had to agree about, “Let’s do that while we eat! Especially since Eirio appears to have helped himself to seconds already…” he tapped the back of my seat for emphasis and then strode off a short ways and took his seat at the head of the rectangular table.
    Aly helped me to fish out some mashed potatoes and a small, pineapple-smothered slice of ham, which I insisted was all I wanted to eat, causing Kauv to glance over at me with his eyebrow raised. As I prodded at my food, the peculiar little household went around the table in a vaguely preschool-like manner and introduced themselves to me.
    First up was Kauv, who I already had grown to know quite well, but that didn’t seem to stop him from taking hold of the opportunity to talk about himself, “As I’m sure you already know, I’m Kauv. This here is my house… I let all these freeloaders stay here because I feel sorry for them… and I guess I must say I rather enjoy their company. I’m an interior designer, if you couldn’t tell, and this old place is my pride and joy. It’s an old theater from over a hundred years ago, and I’ve put a great deal of my life into remodeling and furnishing it. Best way to get on my bad side if to mess up my house. Other than that, I like to think I’m a pretty nice guy… your turn girly-dog.”
    Lupio let out a slightly exasperated sigh, but took his cue, “I’m Lupio, in case your memory of your relatively short encounter with me earlier this week fails you. I came here from the desert with Scooty to attend high school, as I want to become an archaeologist. My real passion is the desert and nature in general, but it’s not too bad up north, here.”
    “And he plays the guitar, too!” Scooty broke in, “He’s pretty good at it.”
    Lupio visibly blushed, “Well, yeah… yes I do. I’m not too good at it yet, though. Heh. Anyways, Scooty?” he glanced to his right, passing the invisible baton on to his friend.
    “Me? Oh, I’m just… Scooty. You already know me,” shrugged the shapeshifter, who was currently in his usual dragon form, “I like… first aid and suchlikes. I came up here with Lupio, like he said. Oh, and I shapeshift, you knew that already…” Scooty was sitting next to me, so he craned his neck around me to glance at Aly, who was at the foot of the table opposite of Kauv, as if to silently hand on the baton to her.
    “Ooooh, I’m just Aly!” chirped the dragon cheerfully, “I’m only up here for a little while, visiting Scooty and Lupio while they’re out of school for the summer. They were down visiting me earlier in the year… I plan to head back to the desert as soon as school starts back up again. I’m not much for cold weather. Oh right, and I’m a geomancer! Can’t forget to mention that… It means I can control rocks and sand and stuffs. It’s great fun! I’ll have to show you my sand, sometime. Alrighty, your turn Petri!”
    “Yay!” Petri exclaimed, “Hiya Aqui, I’m Petri! I like to make cookies… would you like one?” the little white drakwal reached his hand out across the table, offering me an oatmeal raisin cookie, which I plucked gently from his hand and stared at for a moment before picking off a bit and sticking it gingerly in my mouth. It was very good, although I didn’t particularly want much to eat at the moment, so I continued to pick off bits to nibble on. Petri looks exceedingly pleased with himself, “Yay, you like my cookie! Now Eirio can have his turn,” Petri turned anticipant to the miniature gryphon beside him, who was gnawing ravenously at his second slice of ham.
    Eirio looked up, “Well, it’s about time! Geez, why do I have to go last…” no one at the table made any effort to argue with the irascible little creature. It seemed this was ordinary behavior for him, “Now then, let me properly introduce myself!” It seemed to me that he hadn’t yet improperly introduced himself, either, but I decided to take an unspoken tip from the other residents and keep my mouth shut, “I am the mighty warrior in training, Eirio! Do not be fooled by my small size, I am a powerful fighting force and I am in fact quite nearly an adult…”
    “More like a flipping midget-16-year-old…” muttered Kauv.
    “Hey, not my fault Scooty didn’t leave the instruction manual laying around for that switchimajobber gadget of his…” grumbled the gryphon, “If he’d just fix me, I’d actually be the right size!”
    Kauv snickered, “We can probably have that arranged. Scooty’s pretty good at medicine, y’know…”
    Scooty’s face turned beet red, and I’m sure mine did as well. Eirio just glared and then resumed his egotistical speech, “Anyways, enough of that… Pretty much, I’m the fighter of the household,” he climbed up onto the table again and picked up a steak knife from his pile of silverware, taking a dramatic stance and brandishing the makeshift sword, “I, my dear friends and spectators, have trained extensively in the martial arts and sword fighting, and if you are ever in any trouble, I, Eirio, shall be there in a heartbeat to fight gallantly for your safety! No one fear, for your eventual savior stands before you on this very table, weapon in hand, ready to take on-“
    Before Eirio could finish his rapidly escalating ego trip, Kauv lifted him back down from his perch atop the elegant glass tabletop and clicked disapprovingly, “Now I’m gonna have to get the Windex after we finish eating…”
    Eirio huffed, but obediently calmed down a bit, plopping himself down in his booster seat and crossing his arms. He wasn’t done talking, though. This time he changed the focus more to me, much to my distress, “So, what about you? We all told you who we are, and you haven’t said a word all blasted dinner,” he complained, “Why don’t you tell us who you are! Like, I dunno… what’s with all the cuts? Are you emo or something, or are you just a really bad fighter?” He raised an eyebrow as I sank back into my chair as far as I could, tugging at my sleeves instinctively, “Well?” I said nothing, and a few of the others at the table shot glares in Eirio’s direction. He seemed to give up on that much of the fight, at least, but his next approach proved to be every bit as stinging as the last, if not more so, “Alright, fine then… if you won’t tell us that, could you at least tell us something about yourself? Maybe you could talk to us about that Zee thing you were telling Kauv about earlier,” Kauv glared at Eirio and mouthed something about eavesdropping, and I froze were I sat, my eyes widening and my heart quickening, “Is that your little brother or something? Why’s he not here with you, anyways? Heeey, wait a minute… does he have something to do with all those scratches?”
    A wave of panic shot through me. I scrambled weakly to me feet, discreetly slipping my steak knife up from the table and tucking it into the folds of my skirt under the guise of my nervous habit of fidgeting and hoping that no one had noticed. I was in a haze of emotion as I precariously ambled off, but on my way out of the room, I heard the screech of a chair as Kauv stood up to scold Eirio. I caught very few of the words they exchanged, but Kauv was clearly incensed, leaving his smaller counterpart in a state of confusion at what he had done.
    At last, I reached my room. Shakily, I managed to close my door before wobbling over to my bed and sitting down, pulling the pilfered knife out from the pleats of my skirt. I took a gasping, uneven breath and glanced down at my prize, twirling it from side to side as if to calculate what part would do the most damage. I didn’t wait for long, though. Curling myself into a hunched, cross-legged position on my bed, I lifted the knife delicately in my right hand and set it lightly against the opposite wrist for a split second before swiftly digging it in and slashing as deep as I could into my flesh before the stinging became too strong and I switched the knife to the other hand and repeated the action a couple times across my right wrist, albeit a bit clumsily due to my shakiness. Then, my fury sufficiently subdued, I switched the knife again to my dominant hand and took a deep breath, biting my lip as the blood welled up from the fresh incisions in my forearms. It didn’t feel like enough, still, though, so I reached across again with the knife and pressed the blade into my wrist again, this time slower, more precise, and slid it across, gaining depth as the knife progressed across my arm, blood welling up around the blade and spilling down before I had even gotten the chance to lift it back up. I inhaled deeply, the familiar numbness I had sought finally sinking in. I needed more. It had been too long since I had last felt that comforting sting across my wrists, and I soaked in the pain like a thirsty creature taking in water. I lifted the knife again…
    Click. I jumped, startled, and shot a panicked glance in the direction of the door, where Kauv stood, gaping, with a look of utter, speechless horror on his face. I stared back, my expression mirroring his for the brief instant before the situation finished registering itself in the astonished drakwal’s mind, at which point he gasped and ran to me, exclaiming in hushed cry, “Aqui!”
    I scrambled to conceal my knife, even though I knew it was too late, but before I could do a thing, Kauv was at my side, trying as gently as he could to wrestle the knife from my grasp. I held my ground for a moment, but before long my grip loosened, and the knife slipped from my hand as Kauv whisked it away and pulled me into a desperate embrace. For once, I didn’t pull away.
    “Aqui, what are you doing?” Kauv murmured, holding me close in a combined attempt to comfort and restrain me, “Your wrist… you’re bleeding… you… why would you do something like that to yourself…?”
    I threw out all attempts to conceal my objectives and stated, for what was probably the first time since I had come to that house, the plain and simple truth, “I needed to.”
    “You needed to?! What do you mean, you needed to? What are you talking about, you’re talking nonsense…”
    “I needed to… to- to bleed. I had to.”
    “…what? Why?!” Kauv was, much to my surprise, very nearly in tears, now.
    “Because it’s the only thing that helps.”
    “That’s… not right,” Kauv took a choppy, disheartened breath and began to stroke my hair with one of his hands while continuing to hold me tight against him in a protective embrace, “What would cause such a wonderfully sweet, kindhearted, beautiful girl to do something like that to herself?”
    I almost had to choke back a bitter chuckle, “Did you just say beautiful?”
    He glanced down at me, the shadow of his usual affable grin flickering across his countenance, “’Course I did.”
    “You must have been speaking hypothetically,” I countered sullenly.
    “What are you talking about?” he looked mildly taken aback.
    “Me, pretty?”
    “Why yes, as a matter of fact… far too pretty to be slashing your wrists to bits like that.”
    “You must be kidding…” I scoffed.
    “Why would I be?”
    “Because I’m not pretty. Look at me, Kauv, I’m a mess.”
    “A beautiful one. Aqui, you’re being silly.”
    “Will you look at me?!” I cried, almost offended by his misplaced compliments, “I’m covered in scars, my fur is matted with blood, my face is torn to shreds so much that I can hardly keep one of my eyes open… and look at my hair, it’s all shaggy and hacked up because of all the blood that wouldn’t even come out with a bath!” My frail form began to tremble with sobs, “Kauv, you’re holding me; can’t you feel that all I am skin and bones? There’s nothing to me! Doesn’t it feel like you’re holding a corpse? A skeleton?”
    “Well, then, you should eat. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how little you eat… and don’t you give me that ‘I feel sick’ excuse. Your concussion can’t possibly still be that bad. Although frankly, I’ve never met anyone before who starved themselves and thought they were too skinny…” Kauv peered down at me with a blend of puzzlement and concern. I blinked back up at him. He had a point… I never quite realized how silly it seemed until I heard it put into words. I’d be darned if I was going to admit that to him though.
    I decided instead to revert the subject back to its original focus, “So, how am I pretty?”
    “Because you… you just are! And anyways, beauty isn’t all about looks, either. Everybody knows that.”
    “What’s your point?” I droned hopelessly, “I’m no more beautiful on the inside…”
    “What in the world are you talking about? You’re just about the sweetest girl I’ve ever met!”
    “I’m disgusting, Kauv,” I pulled my ears back and glowered up at him with an insulted look, “I’m repulsive… a filthy, dirty, ruined piece of… of…”
    Kauv gave me a stern look, “So. What. You’re not a virgin, I know. It’s not your freaking fault!” A deep flush of passion radiated in his face, “It’s his fault! His sin! He was a jerk to you! How’s that make you a bad person? Eh? He. Hurt. You! And damn him, I will never forgive him for that!” Angry tears streaked down his cheeks as he gripped my shoulders and stared into my eyes, shaking his head and quivering with emotion, “What is wrong with you? Why do you do this to yourself? How can you take the blame for such an evil man? How can you defend him?! How, Aqui? How? Darn you! Can’t you see what he’s done to you?!” He pulled me tight against his chest and began to sob uncontrollably, feverishly stroking his hand through my ragged hair.
    Finally, after a few minutes had passed, Kauv’s crying had diminished to a point where he could once again speak, and he gently lifted me away from himself and picked my petite hands up in his own, holding my arms out away from my body so as to observe the damage done to my wrists. He sighed, “Come on; let’s go get those cuts bandaged up before they get infected. There’re some bandages in the bathroom… I’ll help you take care of it, so we don’t have to tell Scooty what happened, ok?”
    I was astonished, “You mean... you… you won’t tell?”
    He looked baffled, “Why? Do you… want me to?”
    “N-no!” I shook my head, “No… no I just thought… You mean you really don’t plan to tell anyone?”
    “Well, I figured it wasn’t really something you wanted the general public to be aware of,” he replied, “Or would you prefer Eirio trot about calling you emo for the remainder of your stay here?”
    I blinked up at him, “I… thank you. I don’t know what to say,” I took a deep breath and tried my best to flash a weak smile in his direction, “Thanks.”
    “No problem. Now let’s go take care of your arms, alright?”


 

Chapter 12

    Before I knew it, an entire month had passed since I first came to stay in Kauv's house and it was already mid-August, time for the school year to begin. I hadn't been going to school for the last two years... a fact that had hardly occurred to me during all the chaos
with Zesshei, but suddenly weighed heavy on my mind as  my new housemates scuttled about to ready themselves for the school year. Kauv took notice of my concern, though, and before I had the time to worry any longer, he had assisted me in registering for classes at the nearby junior/senior high school Lupio, Scooty, and Eirio attended. Through a bit of testing, I managed to salvage a year of my lost education, but I was still to enter the grade below where I ordinarily would be ready for, meaning at the age of fourteen, I would be entering the 8th grade, the same grade as Scooty. At least I would have a bit of company as I re accustomed myself to the world and faced this strange new life...

    I hardly had a chance to realize what I was about to dive into before the day came, and next thing I knew, I was stepping my way out of a bus and onto the pavement that screamed of the uncomfortably large crowd that would soon be returning to trample it down for the duration of yet another school year. I froze for a moment, gaping around at my surroundings until Eirio came tumbling down behind me, nearly knocking me off my feet, tangled in his bookbag which quite literally weighed two or three times as much as the little gryphon himself. Nevertheless, though, he insisted upon dragging it along with him entirely without assistance aside from the convenient wheels located at the bottom of the bag, which I was quite sure where the only reason the bullheaded little creature had managed to get his belongings as far as he had.
    “Heeeey, hurry it up!” he snapped, scurrying his way around my legs with his wheeled book bag in tow as soon as he managed to detangle himself.
    Scooty and Lupio followed shortly, and Lupio placed a reassuring paw on my shoulder, “You ok? You look awfully frazzled, there, Aqui.”
    “Yeah, I’m fine…” I replied, hoping that was the truth. I tugged futilely at my sleeves. The weather was too warm, still, for a long-sleeved shirt. I had managed to cover the bulk of the lacerations on my arms using my usual strategy of tying strips of loose cloth around each of my wrists under the guise of a decorative accessory of sorts. A few of the cuts around my elbows and hands were still visible, though, and the wraps around my wrists seemed almost to make the few visible cuts appear even more searingly blatant.
    “Alright, then. Let’s head inside, and Scooty and I can show you where your classes are.”
    I nodded, and we began to advance as a group towards the metal double doors that I assumed was the entrance. Once we reached the doors, Lupio casually pushed them open, and there was a split-second interval before a squealing flash of pink and white fur was upon us like a tornado in a trailer park.
    “Lupio!” the girl, a primarily white, squirrelly-looking creature with pastel pink markings and hair, exclaimed as she practically bowled her target over with a running tackle, “I haven’t seen you since last year! How’re you? I’ve been good! Ihadalottafunthissummer!” She babbled at a speed almost too fast for me to comprehend, and then turned to Scooty and Eirio in turn, giving the shapeshifter a one-armed hug and patting the miniature gryphon on the head with a coo of adoration, “And hello to you two, as well! Awww, now aren’t you just the cutest little guuuy, Eirio, I just wanna pinch your little cheeks!”
    “Don’t. You. Dare,” growled the gryphon, looking disgruntled.
    “Anywhos, how’re all you, anyways?” the cheery girl concluded, standing back up straight and smiling at our little troupe. Then she spotted me and seemed to realize I was here with Lupio and the rest, “Oh! Well hello there! I haven’t met you, before… What’s your name? I’m Merri, but you can call me Chronos is you like!” she extended a furry white hand garnished by a pink, plastic wristwatch to me in a gesture of greetings.
    I nervously extended my own hand, holding it at a precarious angle so as to minimize the visibility of my scars, and mirrored her greeting in a meek voice, “N-nice to meet you, C-chronos? I’m Aquaerioul, but you can call me Aqui. Most everyone does…”
    “Okies, then! Nice to meet you, Aqui,” Chronos shook my hand gently and beamed gleefully into my face, “So, why such a glum face, Aqui? I’m gonna have to cheer you up a bit, sometime! Anyways, I gotta head off, now. I bet Trimax is looking for me! Talk to y’guys later! Byebyyyye, can’t wait to get to know you better, Aqui!” And with that, she disappeared into the throng of students as they bustled about and poured in through the doors we were standing just in front of, still.
    Scooty stood there beside me blinking in sleepy bewilderment, and even Lupio seemed a bit frazzled. The shapeshifter turned to his companion and exhaled deeply before speaking up, “Whew… Too early in the morning for Chronos!”
    “Ohhhh yeah,” Lupio agreed, nodding his head slowly in concord, but chuckling softly to himself. He lifted a paw and patted his shapeshifting friend on the back reassuringly. The scarlet gem in Scooty’s collar let off a faint glow, and his form distorted for a moment until where a dragon had stood a moment before, a dog now stood, still balanced on his hind legs like he had been before transforming, but now his tail was wagging laxly from side to side and he glanced up at his taller canine counterpart with a playful half-smile.
    “Anyhow,” Lupio said, finally, “We really oughta get going. You still need to figure out where everything’s at, huh Aqui?”
    I nodded, and Scooty turned to me, dropping onto his all fours with his backpack still strapped on, “Here, I can show you around. I know my way around the junior high wing, and that way we can let Lupio get where he needs to go before the bell rings. Sound good?”
    “Yeah, that’ll work…” I glanced around, half nervous and half lost.
    Lupio cocked his head at us, then asked as if to confirm the plan, “So, I’m gonna head off to my wing now, yes? Looks like Eirio already ran off, so I’ll just meander my way over to my locker and put my things away before first period. You two sure you’ll be alright on your own?”
    Scooty nodded, and waved a paw in farewell to his friend, “Yep. See ya later!” He then turned to look up at me and smiled warmly, “Come on, Aqui, I’ll show you around…”


 

Chapter 13

    Saturday… Finally. My first week back at school after two years of isolation had been exhausting at best. It was early afternoon, and there was nothing I wanted more than to sit in my room, alone, and think through my present situation in hopes of making sense of it all. For the time being, at least, I seemed to have gotten my wish, so I took the opportunity with open hands and made the best of the temporary quiet time, doubtful as to how long it would last.
    How long had it been since I had left Zesshei’s lab? Over a month, now… Over a month since I had last seen little Zee. I sighed. Was this the sacrifice I had to make to prevent it all happening again? Was it really that much better to leave the first victim of his terrible experiment there with him than to bring another into the same terrible existence? I was starting to doubt the wisdom of my decision. No, I was being silly… selfish. I simply wanted to see my son again. I had done the right thing; I couldn’t go back on that now. Zee couldn’t have been saved. Trying to save him would have failed and left us both in the hands of that terrible man still. Nothing could have been done… but still. Everything was lost, now, for me. Why would I leave behind my only joy in life to save myself? I wouldn’t. I hadn’t run to save myself… had this house full of loonies really managed to convince me, even for a moment, that that’s what I had done? I quickly discarded that outrageous thought from my mind. No, I had run to protect an innocent, unborn child without a reason to ever taste a breath of this world’s caustic oxygen. This wasn’t about me, anymore. What would it matter if I died… right then and there? It would mean nothing. It would only end the threat of my circumstances repeating themselves in the form of another ill-fated child…
    I glanced over at my dresser. Should I? In the back of my mind I watched myself as I opened up the drawer… softly, no one would hear… and plucked the hidden knife from its niche behind the stacks of clothes. I saw my body there, sprawled across the bed atop soggy, red sheets. I saw my chest rise and fall, heavy at first, then slower… slower… and I felt the pain recede into a numbness… relief. I closed my eyes and drank in the sweet illusion, willing it to take hold of my cowardly body and carry itself out. Then, as if my mind were playing some sort of cruel game with me, I saw a tear drip down onto two yellow-furred hands as they held the cold, lifeless fingers of a furry blue hand, matted with blood that had trickled down between the fingers and stiffened the fur to little red bristles. I opened my eyes and once again averted my mind. What was the use of dreaming? I hadn’t the courage anyways.
    Knock. I startled and turned in the direction of my door. Knock. Knock. I sighed and pulled myself up off my bed. Someone was at my door… How right I was in doubting the longevity of my quiet time. I strode over slowly, barely finding the energy to put one foot in front of the other, but whoever was at my door must have heard my footsteps, because at least the knocking stopped. Finally, I reached the door and turned the handle, slowly drawing the door open to reveal my visitors’ faces to me…
    “Oh good, you’re here!” Chronos clapped her hands together gleefully as her bright eyes met up with mine, which were surely dull enough to pass for cadaver had I not been forced into a standing position by the knocking on my door. Behind her, almost blending into the shadows of the deep hallway even at midday, stood the shadowy figure of an irril, cloaked in a black leather trench coat and sporting a narrow pair of glasses and a black messenger bag. I gasped and took an apprehensive step backwards.
    Chronos cocked her head, blinking at me with a look of concern, clearly a bit taken aback, “What’s wrong?”
    I peered up at the second guest, clutching my door as if it were some sort of comfort item. He turned towards me and stepped out of the shadows a bit more, making his features more visible. His fur was dark grey, except for his ears and one of the tufts at the ends of his antennae, along with a jagged ring around his tail, which were a dark shade of purple. His eyes, also, were deep purple, and they stared into me from over the edge of his slender glasses frames. I swallowed and shrank away. The familiarity of his face, his form, everything about him… it terrified me.
    “Trimax, um…” Chronos put a hand on the irril’s shoulder, holding him back, and whispered to him, “Hang on a second. She’s scared, see?” She then advanced towards me and smiled, a bit too cheerily for the present situation in my opinion, “Hey Aqui, how’re you?” she waved her hand in casual greeting, “Sorry for just kinda… showing up. My friend here decided he wanted to talk to you about something,” I had to wonder why… despite his familiar appearance, I was sure I’d never met the fellow in my life, “I’m really sorry if we startled you. I know you weren’t expecting us, or anything. Trimax says he thinks he knows who you are, though. Something about his brother…” Brother?! My heart skipped a beat.
    The irril nodded, “I think you know my brother. He’s kinda tall, blue fur, black lightning bolts… and altogether not a very nice guy. He’s a scientist. Ring any bells?”
    Yes! I was too paralyzed to reply, though.
    “Judging by your reaction, or lack thereof aside from the fact that your eyes look to be about twice the size they were before I started talking, I’ll take that as a yes,” said the irril, curtly, “In which case, I’d like to talk to you, if you wouldn’t object too terribly.”
    I opened my mouth a smidgeon, as if to reply, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. Half of me wanted to meet this irril, who claimed to be the brother of the one who had caused me such pain, more thoroughly, but the other half of me feared him and wished to dart back into the safety of my room and hide there until he was well away from me.
    “Listen, I’m not here to hurt you. If you think I’m like him, you’ve got another thing coming,” the spectacled irril rolled his eyes at me slightly, “If you’ll give me the chance, I want to do what I can to help right the wrongs my brother did to you, but if you sit there behind a door the whole time, there’s not much I can do.”
    I sighed and stepped out from behind my protective door. I might as well give him a chance. Chronos was there, and I trusted her well enough, so I wasn’t in any great danger at least…
    “Good, now where should we all sit down?” he glanced around.
    I found my voice, and meekly gestured towards my bed, “We can just sit down in here…”
    Chronos nodded, “Okies!” and flopped herself down on the edge of my bed, making herself comfortable. The irril and I followed.
    “So, yeah…” the irril grunted once we were seated, “I… guess I should probably introduce myself first. I’m Trimax-“
    “His name’s really Dmitri,” Chronos added.
    “-whatever, anyways… My name’s Trimax. I’m Zesshei’s younger brother; you might know me as the source of an awful lot of computer viruses and equipment shutdowns. I know a lot about you from hacking into Zesshei’s lab logs. The idiot still hasn’t figured out that I can hack into his PDA, because I never shut the thing down… guess it never occurred to him that I might not want to shut down the thing he keeps his lab notes on. Kind of defeats the purpose of spying…” The following 10 minutes consisted almost entirely of increasingly confusing rambling on the subject of computer hacking, intervened only by the occasional crack on the apparently questionable intelligence of Zesshei. All I really picked up from the entire ordeal was that Trimax thoroughly despised his brother and had a particular penchant for computer hacking.
    Finally, upon noticing that I was actually beginning to doze off, Chronos broke into the conversation, “Anyhow, Trimax wanted to get to know a little more about you and see what he could do to help! Right Trimax?”
    “Oh, yes, right… Sorry, got a little carried away, there. Yes… Anyways, Zesshei’s journal said you ran away, and then a month or so later, Chronos comes to me and starts talking about this new girl at school with cuts all over her… when she told me your name and said you were a blue oarcat, I just… Wow. I don’t even know. I’d been tracking Zesshei’s journals for so long, and you have no idea how… how horrible it is to read about those experiments he does! He is a sick guy… I…” he grimaced, “He… he wrote something about crossbreeding, and… and a kid, a little kid… a son. I don’t… even know if I want to know what he did. You’ve got a son, right? A little boy… about, what, a year and a half old, now? You… you actually gave birth to him, right?”
    “Y-yes, yes I do…” I was a little perplexed, “What do you mean, I actually gave birth? Of course I did… I… how else would I have a son?”
    “That numbskull!” Trimax growled, then sighed, “Why didn’t he do it artificially? Idiot. Please tell me he at least did the… the rest artificially. I swear I’ll kill him if he…” he gritted his teeth. This time I understood.
    “…raped me?” I peeped, almost inaudibly, and shifted my eyes away from my visitors, my face burning with shame.
    There was a stunned silence in the room, then an angry rumbling emitted from the back of Trimax’s throat, “He didn’t…” he shook his head in frustration, letting out an aggravated breath as if he were at an utter loss for words, “How could he! How dare he! What can I… tell me how I can help. Please.”
    “Why does it matter to you?” I murmured, “You don’t need to help me. You did nothing,” I paused, but after a second thought, I added, “…I don’t even want help.”
    “Don’t you… want your son back?” he inquired, puzzled.
    “There’s nothing you can do…” I muttered hopelessly.
    “What are you talking about?” he argued, “I know this guy inside and out. I could get your son back within a day’s time; all you’d have to say the word, and…” he snapped his fingers. He then went quiet for a moment, looking thoughtful, then asked gently, “What’s his name, anyways? Your son? Zesshei never mentioned a name in his journals…”
    “Zee,” I replied simply, “I call him Zee.”
    “Awww,” Chronos piped in, “What a cute little name! What’s he look like? C’mon, tell us? Pleeease?”
    I gave them a reluctant look, and then stared back down into my lap, “He’s… a little blue fellow, with yellow markings… on his paws like mine, and lightning bolts under his eyes, like… like Zesshei. And his antennae are different colors, too… one blue and the other yellow…”
    Trimax seemed to smile a little and reached up to fiddle with his own antennae, as if he was almost flattered that his nephew bore some resemblance to himself.
    “He sounds adorable, Aqui,” Chronos grinned, “I’d love to meet him, sometime!”
    I stayed silent, glancing over at the wall in the opposite direction of my guests.
    Chronos was quiet for a moment, then made a shocked little squeak before speaking up again, “…you, you mean… you really plan to leave him there?”
    I forced myself to nod, clenching my jaw in conviction.
    “But… he’s your son… your baby…”
    “It’s better… I can’t…” I choked on my half-whispered words.
    Trimax shook his head, “I guess you really don’t want help, eh?”
    “Nope,” I squeaked, compelling the reply to leave my throat.
    “Alright, then, fine…” he huffed, “I’ll just… just… fine,” the irril stood up and strode away, “C’mon Chronos, let’s go.”
    She looked up at her friend, bemused, and turned to me, placing a warm, white hand gently on my shoulder and giving me a saddened smile. She then stood up and followed the darkly clad irril out of the room. Before they closed the door, though, I caught a glimpse of her leaning against her friend and whispering something into his ear, glancing back in my direction as she did so.
    Somehow I doubted my troubles were over… this irril, Trimax, didn’t seem like the sort to give up on something so easily. He was like his brother, and Kauv, too. They didn’t know when to stop, not a one of them. It seemed beyond their reasoning capabilities to grasp that I was a lost cause… I sighed. Perhaps I had picked up a streak of their obstinacy, too. Was that what was stopping me from putting an end to all this absurdity? I laid back down on my bed and began to fidget with the folds of a blanket. Had it all come down to some sort of ridiculous battle of persistence? If that was the case, I certainly seemed to be losing. My will was being pulled in every direction imaginable, right now, and the more I listened to them all, the farther I was dragged from my own plan of action. What next? Would he come back and throw in his own two cents? And would I listen… to the one who had done me so much harm? I didn’t get much time to think on it before I drifted off into a restless and reluctant sleep. So much for my reflecting time…


 

Chapter 14

    Before long, though, trouble came knocking once more… quite literally. Poor little Petri, I’m sure he hadn’t a clue…
    I was sitting in my room when the little fellow came up and knocked on my door. “Aqui! Aqui! Your friend is here to visit!” he declared amiably. Figuring he must have picked Chronos up from the doorstep, I stood up and opened my bedroom door, preparing myself to let out a playful sigh of mock-annoyance to greet my bubbly acquaintance… But the moment I opened my door, my sigh caught in my throat with a terrified squeak.
    “There you are,” Zesshei smirked, shoving aside the child who had lead him here and sidestepping into my room, closing the door behind him, “So, you thought you’d run out on your duties, did you?”
    “I-“
    “Don’t argue,” he stepped closer and took my chin roughly in his hand, “Listen. You seem to have a hard time with that, sometimes… You see, you’re my assistant, Aquaerioul. My experiment. And frankly, I don’t like when my experiments are disobedient. But it’s alright, perhaps you didn’t understand that, so I’ll let you off easy… this time. If you come back with me without a fight, that is,” he dug his claws into my cheeks and sneered, “So what do you think, girl? Will you come with me?”
    I could hardly breathe from fear, but I had to think fast, “But… but I…” my ears pulled back. The next thing out of my mouth was perhaps the most stupid thing I could have said, “NO!”
    “Really, now?” his sharp canine teeth flashed in a sadistic grin, and he tugged my body close to his with a jerk of his arm, “Care to change your answer?” But I had no intent of changing my answer, so instead I tried to struggle out of his grip, only succeeding in causing him to dig his claws deeper into my own flesh and tighten his grip on my frail form. He leaned forward in whispered into my ear, “You, my dear, are my property, with which I can do as I please,” I felt a claw run lightly across my neck, “And if you don’t comply, I suppose I’ll have no choice but to dispose of you.”
    I gasped and tried to jerk myself out of his terrible grip, but as soon as my body twitched, I felt my body swept roughly from the ground and a smothering blow to my head, enough that I can hardly recall what happened for some time afterwards…

    Smash! My head hit the hard laboratory wall as Zesshei’s body pressed against mine, his hand pulling back on my head. I felt as my skull cracked against the concrete, and then everything seemed to fade into a swirl of dizziness. Warm liquid trickled down my neck; warm fur brushed up and down the length of my body; warm breath licked my tender face. It was almost comfortable. I could almost fall asleep… I’m not so sure I didn’t.

    Then I felt a foot in my side and opened my eyes. I was on the ground. I wondered how I got there. The cement floor was cold without any clothes on, but I was shaking so badly that standing up seemed impossible. His foot made contact with my side once more, harder this time. I supposed standing was in my best interests, difficult or not, so I did. Every inch of me seemed to be jittering, though, and no amount of effort seemed to be able to prevent my teeth from chattering, which in turn shot searing pains through the back of my skull.
    A heavy lump of fabric fell into my arms, which I identified to be my clothing, and somewhere in the room a voice was saying something to the effect of, “Get dressed,” and “Go to your room.” It almost seemed to echo inside my head.
    I stood there, perfectly still, as I waited for my thoughts and eyesight to adjust enough that I could take in my surroundings and situation. Once the circumstances set in, I opened my mouth and murmured the first thing that came to my mind, “Z-z-zee?” The word didn’t come out quite as I had planned, but my intent was still clear. My adversary turned his head in my direction, presumably bearing a glare, although my fuzzy eyesight couldn’t perceive his expression.
    “Fine, you can take your brat with you,” he sneered, “Just don’t go making a run for it again. You’ll both be sorry if you do.”
    I nodded submissively, my mouth shaking, and let the irril lead me about, my hand grasped firmly in his, until finally I found myself sitting atop a darkly familiar cot with the warmest, softest little being wrapped gently in my arms. My shivering hand stroked the little child’s fur over and over until my fingertips lost all sensation to the silky feel. I closed my eyes as a mix of bliss, exhaustion, and pure, utter horror washed over me all at once.

    I had all but forgotten where I was or how much time had passed when all of a sudden the door to the room (which I had simply assumed to be locked) flew open and two lanky figures burst in. Suddenly snapping back to reality, I cringed backwards, unable to properly identify the figures in the dark room. The figures scrambled about for a moment, making a quick, seemingly disgruntled exchange of words before one exited the room and assumed a guard-like position in front of the door and the other turned to approach me. My heart fluttered in my throat and I shrank further into the shadows, clutching my child closer to my chest. The figure wore a cape. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to prepare myself for what awaited.
    “Aqui,” whispered an unexpectedly soft voice. My eyes shot open, unneeded adrenaline filling my veins.
    I floundered for words, but all that came out was a startled shout, “Stay away from me!”
    Kauv backed away a step, taken aback, “Aqui…”
    There was no time to think through my words by that point, “Stay away; don’t take him away!”
    “I’m not trying to-”
    “Go away!” I screeched, ears pressed back and Zee clutched tight in my arms.
    “I’m here to help you, Aqui, I-”
    Reality started to set in, but the adrenaline had already taken control of me, “Get out now! You’re just putting yourself on the line and us on the line! Get away from me!” I bared my teeth as he reached a hand for mine, “Leave Zee alone,” I rumbled, a fire in my eyes that I had never felt before.
    “Please, Aqui,” he coaxed, not backing down, “Listen to me…”
    My muscles loosened, but my ears stayed pressed flat against my pounding skull. I said nothing.
    He inched closer, touching his hand to mine and sidling close enough to take a seat beside me. I huffed irascibly but allowed his advance. His hand remained softly rested upon my forearm, “What did he do to you?” he whispered. I could almost sense a touch of terror in his voice. The glare in my eyes softened. He continued, “I’m trying to get you out of here, Aqui. I just want to help.” I gulped. The shadow of the figure outside the door shifted. “Aqui, did he-”
    “ZESS-” the settling calm in the room was cut abruptly short by athe shot outside the door. Moments later, Zesshei came strutting in with a flailing figure, only slightly shorter and peculiarly similar to himself in build, suspended by its coat collar in his fist. Trimax!
    “So you thought you’d put together a little rescue party, eh?” Zesshei glanced between Kauv and I, Trimax still dangling from his fist, trying in vain to land a punch on his brother, “Well, I’ve got news for you,” he sneered, half-dropping, half-flinging his sibling heartily onto the cement floor, “It’s not going to work,” he started to advance towards Kauv and I.
    Before Zesshei had taken more than a step towards us, Kauv was on his feet, poised to fight, “Don’t you dare!” He growled, “Lay one hand on her, and you’ll regret every moment of it!”
    Zesshei lunged to sweep the obstacle out of his way, but Kauv caught him by the clasp of his cloak before he could make contact, swinging him around and holding him in place with one fist as he clenched the other, “How dare you,” he hissed, “What could you have possibly been thinking, you… you…” his breathing was heavy with emotion, “You did it again, didn’t you?! Didn’t you?!”
    “I can do as I wish.”
    “DEMON!!!” Kauv’s fist flew at his adversary’s head, fangs bared and rage flaring in his violet eyes… Then, millimeters away from the anticipated thud, his fist came to an abrupt stop and a furry grey figure shoved its way into the spot in which he was standing.
    “Go help your girlfriend, you idiot! I’ll take care of him!” Trimax snapped, shoving Kauv in my direction before diving into a seemingly outmatched grapple with his brother.
    Kauv snorted, casting a swift glance black at the wrestling irrils before hastily turning and lifting me up off the bed, Zee still in my arms, and scrambling for the exit as quickly as possible with me in his arms.
    As he stumbled through the halls, he clutched my shivering body to his and whispered consolingly into my ear, “Its alright, we’re almost out. We’re going to make it out, the exit’s here somewhere… There it is, there, and now we just have to open the doors…” and with that, we ruptured through the seemingly impenetrable walls of Zesshei’s fortress.
    We were met with sunlight, such a beautiful, bright sunlight that it seemed almost unreal to my eyes, and the moment we made our appearance, we were met by our entire group of friends, ragtag as they were, all gathered together to welcome us out. Chronos was there, and Scooty, and a very frazzled looking Eirio who appeared as if he’d been booted out a second story window… and Lupio was there with none other than my old experiment friend Miashi! He must have rescued her from wherever she was hidden in the lab while Kauv was off helping me. I could ask about that later. I glanced in awe about the clearing. The only ones missing were Petri, who I supposed had stayed back out of the line of fire so he could make something for the returning rescue party to eat, and… I swallowed and glanced up at Kauv.
    “But what about…” I stammered, thinking back to our escape.
    “…Trimax,” Chronos finished the statement in a quiet whisper.
    “He’ll be ok,” Kauv assured, “Just give ‘im a few minutes to beat the crud out of that no-good brother of his. I think he’s been waiting for this for a while,” then, under his breath he added, “Just like me. Hmmff.”
    For the first time in a long time, I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, and along with me, the furry little child in my arms burst into a fit of gleeful giggles, wrapping his tiny arms clumsily around my neck and nuzzling into the fur of my cheek. My life was finally right again… or at least as close to right as it had been since that night I left my home so long before.